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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UK Athletics report A Manifesto for Clean Athletics.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    I welcome UK Athletics contributing to the debate on anti-doping and underlining its commitment to clean sport.

    It’s important that all sports continue to look at ways they can further promote clean sport and we will continue to work closely with UK Anti-Doping, World Anti-Doping Agency and sports governing bodies on tackling doping.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to review the harmony guidelines on periods of time away for service personnel.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence has no plans to review the harmony guidelines, which are set to ensure that there is an acceptable balance between the competing aspects of the lives of Service personnel.

    We recognise that when harmony guidelines are breached, this can have an impact on operational effectiveness. That is why we are committed to minimising the number of unnecessary breaches whilst at the same time maintaining operational capability.

    The Ministry of Defence publishes Monthly Service Personnel Statistics which include (at Table 10) the numbers of trained UK Regular Personnel breaching Individual Harmony Guidelines. The latest report, published on 14 January 2016, shows that as at 1 October 2015 the breach rate equated to 0.4% for the Naval Service, 2.6% for the Army and 1.3% for the Royal Air Force.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-monthly-service-personnel-statistics-2015

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Since 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions has outsourced the provision and maintenance for the majority of its estate to Telereal Trillium under a 20 year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract that expires on 31 March 2018.

    Under the terms of the contract, Telereal Trillium provides fully-serviced accommodation, for which we pay an all-inclusive annual charge. Engie are Telereal Trillium’s cleaning service provider.

    The Engie base rate of pay for all cleaners within the M25 is £9.15 (London Living Wage) which will increase to the new London Living Wage of £9.40 by May 2016.

    The Engie base rate of pay for all cleaners outside the M25 is £6.70 (or the scale appropriate to their age) which will change in April 2016 to the National Living Wage of £7.20 (or the scale appropriate to their age).

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish an estimate of the likely impact of the additional levy that will be imposed on well managed and solvent pension schemes in relation to the BHS pension schemes.

    Baroness Altmann

    Parliament gave the Pensions Protection Fund independence in how it operates. The PPF sets the pension protection levy at the level it considers necessary to meet its long term funding strategy rather than in direct response to recent claims. Factors relevant to the level of the levy include: the PPF’s existing funding position (£3.6bn in reserves at March 2015); the potential level of future claims; the potential level of assets that may be received from transferred schemes; and expected future investment returns.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of naval vessels and aircraft routinely conduct monitoring and reporting of maritime activity (a) in the presence of vessels engaged in fishing and (b) otherwise when they are operating in or transiting through the Exclusive Economic Zone of British Overseas Territories.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence supports the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in combatting illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing through a support agreement between the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Royal Navy (RN), whereby naval assets conduct fishery protection activities. The RN and MMO work closely to maximise the effectiveness of these fishery protection activities within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the UK.

    RN and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels also conduct maritime security operations at all times while at sea, this includes monitoring and reporting maritime activity to relevant UK authorities. Reporting of fishing and other maritime activity to local UK authorities in Overseas Territories and the relevant authorities of other nations is routinely undertaken whenever a RN or RFA vessel is operating in the vicinity of UK Overseas Territories.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government is making to the governments of India and Pakistan on finding a peaceful solution to the situation in Kashmir which fully involves the people of Kashmir in the process.

    Alok Sharma

    The longstanding position of the United Kingdom is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the United Kingdom to prescribe a solution or to act as a mediator. We encourage both sides to maintain positive dialogue, but the pace and scope of this is for them to determine.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has any plans routinely to collect and publish data on (a) the response times and (b) the number of referrals through the National Referral Mechanism by First Responders.

    Sarah Newton

    The National Crime Agency (NCA) publishes quarterly data on the number of referrals made by different First Responder organisations, which can be accessed through the following link: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics The NCA does not collect data about response times by First Responders. The Government is piloting a new approach to the NRM, at the end of which we will consider, among other things, which data should be routinely collected.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has held with food bank providers on his Department’s plans to locate job advisers in food banks.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches already undertake outreach work every day in local communities. Work Coaches recently began offering back-to-back support in the Lalley Centre in Manchester. Early feedback has been positive. We will reflect on this, and consider if there is potential for expansion

  • Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have chosen to consolidate HMRC offices across Yorkshire in Leeds, in the light of property costs and levels of competition for skilled workforce in that city, compared with other cities in the region.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles that will enable it to deliver more for less. In addition to cost, these include quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills it needs to continue its transformation.

    HMRC is committing to Yorkshire and the Humber by creating a new Regional Centre in Leeds. HMRC’s assessment is that Leeds is a better choice in terms of the location principles, particularly the quality of transport links and the ability of its staff to commute to a future site.

    Overall, the regional transformation programme will reduce HMRC’s estate’s costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

  • Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jolly on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many foreign nationals received training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in each year between 2005 and 2016.

    Earl Howe

    Defence has a long and proud tradition of training overseas military and civilian personnel at its training establishments throughout the UK and this is an essential ingredient of Defence Engagement. Training establishments such as Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) offer international students prestigious courses which remain highly prized. Courses currently undertaken by foreign nationals are the Commissioning Course, the Army Reserve Commissioning Course, the Professionally Qualified Officer Course and the International Trainer Development Course.

    These courses expose international partners to UK policy, and promote concepts of accountability, human rights and transparency. They are important in building skills which enable other countries to deal appropriately with their own internal problems, thereby contributing to regional security. The courses are paid for by a combination of self and UK funding. Information on the number of foreign nations in receipt of training at RMAS is provided in the attached table.